Community - Remedial Chaos Theory
__TOC__ Introduction 'About ''Community Community is a television show on NBC created by Dan Harmon that has run for four seasons as of summer 2013. Recently, the show has been renewed by NBC for a fifth season. Stanhope, Kate. "Community Renewed for Fifth Season." TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/news/community-renewed-nbc-1065485.aspx Community centers around a Spanish study group at Greendale Community College, coined "the Greendale seven," with often appearances from the dean of the school, Dean Pelton, and a Chinese Spanish teacher, Professor Chang. The seven main characters consist of Jeff, Britta, Annie, Troy, Abed, Shirley, and Pierce. The show has developed a cult following and is known for its plethora of pop culture references, multiple layers of remediation, and quirky comedy throughout. '''About "Remedial Chaos Theory" "Remedial Chaos Theory" is the third episode of season 3, but aired as the fourth episode on October 13, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remedial_Chaos_Theory Troy and Abed have just moved in together in a new apartment and invite the gang over for a house-warming party. The episode goes on to split into seven different timelines, each with a different ending, when Jeff rolls a dice to see who has to get the pizza. As each character leaves one by one, the remaining members of the group display exactly what the missing character adds to the group. When one person leaves the group, the group becomes unbalanced based on what their character adds. For example, Abed diffuses awkwardness because he is so quirky himself and always is in control of his emotions. When he goes to get the pizza, he returns to an awkward situation where everyone seems very uncomfortable as a result of losing control emotionally. Britta and Shirley had a fight where they revealed , Annie said Jeff reminded her of her dad after they kissed, and Pierce gave Troy a Norwegian troll doll that used to scare him when they lived together. "Remedial Chaos Theory" was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series."Community Scores Emmy Nomination for Writing Despite Backstage Drama." Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/community-emmy-nomination_n_1688228.html The writer of the episode was Chris McKenna, but it also had Dan Harmon's prints all over it. Community won one Emmy in 2011 for the claymation episode titled "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" in the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation category. 'Interpretive Disputes' 'Knowledge Communities' Living in such a wired world, there are millions of internet communities for almost every imaginable interest. Everyone with a computer can access the web and discuss topics that interest them personally. The internet can be thought of as a collection of virtual clubs. These clubs can be centered around anything, including movies, pastimes, sports, companies, and even countries. Different platforms and websites, such as Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, and Tumblr, help to organize these clubs, making them organized and accessible. Knowledge communities are just like these clubs, except more information-driven. These communities are where people come together and create a massive hub of information about a particular subject. 'Remediation' Interpretive Disputes '303 vs. 304' One of the many interesting aspects of "Remedial Chaos Theory" (S3E03) is the placement of the episode within the third season. It is the third episode of the season, yet was aired after the fourth episode, "Competitive Ecology" (S3E04). The opening of episode 03 poked fun at the non-chronological order of the airdates, as Troy and Abed's apartment is number 303 and the opening line is Britta asking "Didn't they say 304?" Alex Dayan, owner of the blog [http://whendoilaugh.tumblr.com/ When Do I Laugh?], posted an article dissecting "Remedial Chaos Theory" and raises many interesting possibilities arguing what the incongruous ordering might mean in terms of the plot of the show. He argues that the timeline in which Abed goes to get the pizza is the true timeline that the show continues to follow, not Jeff's as the end of the episode seems to suggest. Dayan notes that episode 4 includes references to Pierce's Eartha Kitt story, Shirley's knowledge of Britta's marijuana use, and possibly to Abed finding a nickle in the hallway on the way up. Fantastically enough, Dan Harmon personally responds to Dayan's theory (which seems very possible) on his blog. Unfortunately, Harmon squashes all of the deep insight fans were searching for behind the switched episodes. He simply says "It aired out of order because it was a bitch to edit. I'm sorry it's not more complicated than that, but I'm sure glad the explanation isn't more sinister."Harmon, Dan. "Fine, we're geniuses but not EVIL geniuses." Dan Harmon Poops. http://danharmon.tumblr.com/post/11469117959/fine-were-geniuses-but-not-evil-geniuses Harmon continues to explain that the true timeline indeed is the one where Jeff fetches the pizza. In Spoiling "Survivor,"''Jenkins, Henry. "Spoiling ''Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Culture." Jenkins describes Survivor's producer Mark Burnett to be the type to spread false rumors about the show's plot and outcome. The relationship between Burnett and Survivor fans is one of love but complete distrust. By spreading false spoilers, Burnett would increase the surprise factor when the show is aired, thus resulting in more buzz and publicity. Harmon has a completely opposite relationship with Community fans. They love, appreciate, and fully support his work, even to the point of despairing when he was fired. He explains he doesn't want to confuse fans, and would never try to confuse fans on purpose like Survivor often attempted. Harmon hints at the return of the "evil timeline," which is revisited at first in S3E12 "Contemporary Impressionists,"http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Contemporary_Impressionists in the tag of S4E10 "Intro to Knots,"http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Intro_to_Knots and then at length in the season 4 finale "Advanced Introduction to Finality."http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Advanced_Introduction_to_Finality In today's age of technology, direct access to authors and writers has become much easier. The creators of shows can do interviews that are accessible 24/7 to fans all around the world for free. Knowledge Communities Remediation 'Fan Art and the Six Seasons and a Movie Art Show' With the show teetering on the brink of cancellation, artists and lovers of ]Community gathered together to create an art show entirely composed of Community fan art. Most of the artists heard about the exhibit through friends, art websites such as deviantART, and word-of-mouth and are avid fans of the show. Jeff Victor, one of the artists that participated in the art show, describes fan art as "a way to communicate your love of something in your own personal way." He goes on to say "I'm not a filmmaker. I'm not an actor. I'm an artist, and this is my way of saying 'Hey, I really like this.'" The mediums spanned from prints and oil paintings to home-made action figures, board games, knitted dolls, and even a video game. Fans who had come to view the art thought that this gallery was so special because they felt a personal connection and shared inside jokes with the artists and the other members of the fan community. They would look at a piece and laugh, remembering the specific event in the show that was referenced. When cast members of the show arrived, they were quick to express their profound appreciation and admiration for the works that the talented fans had created. Dan Harmon himself even appeared to judge the costume contest, and jokingly laughed "No wonder I got fired." Harmon explained that he was surrounded by so much genius in the art show which was reflective of the small demographic that the show appeals to. One of the artists describes making fan art as doing what she loves, without fear of judgement, solely to express her love for the characters and the show. The organizer of the exhibit, Mark Batalla, says the intentions of the show was to "showcase the fans and their relationship to the show." Yes, there is an unfathomable amount of fan art across the web from thousands of artists. But the gallery show collected the fans and art in one room where they could directly interact and display their love for Community. 'YouTube Presence' YouTube is another place where Community fans can gather, share their favorite montages, and discuss the show. YouTube user JackANapes1969 created the mash-up between Community clips and Childish Gambino's track "Freaks and Geeks." This video is special because not only is it perfectly-timed, but the rapper Childish Gambino a.k.a. Donald Glover plays Troy on Community. The video has a modest 380,000 views, and 99.4% of voters "like" it. The comments are riddled with references to various episodes, and are obviously posted by avid fans. MiniFlyGuy writes "Whoever disliked this just straight up Britta'd it!" and the original poster replied "They probably need therapy from a student therapist." In addition to fan-created uploads, Community cast and crew also uploads "webisodes" and special features to supplement the show. 'Inspector Spacetime' Additional Links Community Wikia Community Subreddit Community TV Tropes Site TV.com Community Forum Community Fan Forum References